Living With A Diclonius
by SabreGT357
Summary: This is the story of a foreign middle-aged man who was given the oportunity to work and reside in Japan thanks to his knowledge in software programming and by a series of events he finds himself sharing his everyday life with a mysterious girl. However everything happens for a reason. Taking place in the Elfen Lied universe, no original characters appearing. Based on a dream I had.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the diclonius race, fortunately for us it doesn't exist. Haven't you seen the anime/manga, they are evil.  
**

**Greetings Readers:**

**I apologize for any inconvenience regarding the basic vocabulary or grammar mistakes, english is not my native language. However I decided to write in english because it is most common, at least in this website. **

**Help me get better by commenting and reviewing.**

**Just for curiousity: **

**The idea of this fanfic is based on a dream I had. Therefore all cast appearing is of my own, however the story takes place in the same universe as Elfen Lied.**

**May 13, 20XX.**

In a dark room, he has been in front of the computer for many hours, enough to make his eyes red and his back hurt, maintaining the same uncomfortable position in the chair as the only part of his body in motion being the fingers, typing at an average speed something that resembled to be formulas. Lines and lines of irregular words mixed with numbers and symbols, each one of them carefully arranged in a particular order that only he would understand.

A cup at the edge of a glass desk next to a computer and many instruction manuals laid, full to the top with coffee that has clearly not been touched since the morning it was served demonstrates the commitment the man puts in his job. Anyway the coffee was not drinkable anymore and it's only purpose now was to go down the drain.

The middle aged man suddenly stops and takes a glance to his wristwatch with a tired expression on his face, soon after he stands up to stretch from the fixed position with many bone cracking sounds coming from his column.

"Seven already... time to give it a rest and go home", he reminds to himself with a not so enthusiastic tone.

As he takes his computer bag and prepares to leave the office, a young japanese looking man approaches to him with a friendly attitude.

"Hey Chris, are you leaving?", he asked.

"Oh, of course I'm leaving, my shift is over and so as yours, Kouji." he replies with a slight disgusted tone.

"Fine, and do not forget it is Kouji-san to you".

"My bad, I still don't get used to japanese manners", drastically changing his attitude to a more humble one.

"I will let it pass but only because you are a foreigner."

"Yeah I apologize, I will even bow to you right now", the sarcasm seems to be back as he actually makes a slight bow to his fellow co-worker.

"Huh you will never change, leaving that aside, I have something important to tell you."

"Look I am tired so let's postpone that karaoke party for next week." says slightly bowing with the hand on the back of his head.

"It's not that, besides your karaoke performance is lame".

"I am aware of it, that is why I'd rather not embarrass myself by going again. By the way Kouji, what is that very important thing that keeps me from going home and being stuck here listening to you."

"IT happened again", says Kouji while staring directly to Chris' eyes.

Both employees change their attitude drastically, suddenly filling the corridor with a dead silence for quite some time.

"Has there been any casualties", Chris asked.

"Of course not, it is the fifth time that IT happened and still no one seems to be nearby at the time of the incident".

"Any idea how it was made, or by whom?"

"As I said, no victims nor witnesses".

"Hey Kouji, would you like to go and check it out".

"Sure, you don't see that everyday".

"I hope we don't see that every day, besides we have no choice, it happened in the same place right."

"Ahh... the parking lot, in the fourth floor." said Kouji.

Both employees walk towards the auxiliary entrance to the east wing of the office building, which conveniently was connected to a five floor multi-storey car park.

As they get closer to the scene, many people have gathered around to witness the inexplicable event, including the Kamakura Police Department and a heavy duty truck which could be seen in such a crowded place.

Close to the crowd of employees from other businesses that also are connected to the parking lot, a familiar face resembles upon the rest. A japanese security guard in his mid-forties, judging by the gray uniform with a radio attached to his left chest and a distinctive beret; and because he was an acquaintance of Chris.

"Yoshida-san, how does it look." Chris asks with not much concern.

"Oh Chris-san, Kouji-san, good afternoon, well not so different from the last time it happened."

"I see, no need to look at it this time then, besides many people have gathered and the incident is impossible to observe from here." says Chris with quite a relief in his voice.

"Don't worry Chris-san, you leave it to me, here I have as much authority as the police."

Suddenly Yoshida's face fills with determination and starts walking into the crowd with his nightstick on hand.

Like a boat breaking through ice on the arctic seas creating a new path. The crowd moving aside as they hear the old man shouting forward.

"_sumimasen, sumimasen, doite-kudasai._"

Although been living in Japan for a few months, Chris' japanese knowledge was good enough to understand that Yoshida was telling the people to politely move aside; that would save him from asking Kouji what was the security guard saying, as well as avoiding a bad joke from him for not understanding such simple expressions.

"Uhh... what the hell, Kouji let's check it out before the path closes".

Following the trail that the security guard opened for them, moving through what resembled to be a forest of people, they finally arrive to where the incident took place.

"No need to thank me you two." said the proud looking security guard.

"That was really not necessary Yoshida-san but good job, I guess."

Few meters in front of them, among the police officers and the red-blue lights printing the walls of the parking lot, laid the victim.

The three man keep staring at a familiar, yet extraordinary happening that never ceases to amaze them, they could stare at it for what was left of the day.

A black Mitsubishi Sedan, just like any other, except that this one had been separated in two parts. A clean cut going from side to side of the body, not even a scratch on the painting.

The only logical explanation anybody would think about is that it was made with a giant paper cutter, or even a guillotine. But that was ridiculous.

However, the divided vehicle was about to be loaded on the heavy-duty truck to be disposed of as who appeared to be the owner was being questioned by the police.

A quite depressed middle aged japanese business woman wearing a turquoise jacket with a familiar logo on it; the three man pinpoint recognized it as an insurance company employee which was located two floors below the same office building they worked.

How ironic, to think that the possibility of any insurance plan covering clean-cut motor vehicles hardly existed. With no witnesses there was nothing she could declare to the police.

"Chris-kun, would you like to make a bet" says Kouji.

"Let me guess, you want me to guess how the cut was made. Am I right?"

"You said it yourself, wanna try."

"Taking in mind the fact that this is the fifth incident of its kind, having no witnesses and not even the police investigations division could declare a simple explanation, I think it is even more stupid to think that a bet could even get close to a theory." replied Chris with overwhelming self confidence.

"Fine, fine, I was just saying. You don't have to tell me the obvious."

"We are software programmers Kouji, not detectives, get it out of your mind."

As the police escorted the heavy-duty truck carrying the divided carcass of what used to be the amusement for so many, the crowd was starting to disperse leaving the parking lot like nothing had happened in a matter of seconds.

The absence of red and blue lights had suddenly turned the place into pitch black night, only being thanks to the emergency lights from turning it into complete darkness.

"Time flies when you have fun." said Kouji with a childish attitude.

"Fun you say...? Show some concern for the situation Kouji".

"Why are you so worked up, we won't be seeing that again for some time, last incident happened a month ago."

"Yeah... I still remember that green compact owned by a senior in the first floor office, he even cried, I haven't seen something like that." said Chris in a low tone."

After a long moment of silence, it was Yoshida's turn to say something.

"You also own a car Chris-kun, a red Honda if I am not mistaken."

"That's right Yoshida-san, a 2011 Civic model."

"Ohh... then you should be careful Chris-kun. YOU...MIGHT...BE...THE...NEXT...ONE." said Kouji with a creepy tone.

"Yeah you are right, maybe I should start using a bicycle, just like you...I don't think so."

"Shut it, I...I...I will definitely purchase that Suzuki bike I told you about, you just wait and see."

"Sure, In your dreams..._saru-me_." replied Chris quietly.

"Hee... what was that again."

"What are you talking about, it was probably the wind, or you are losing it Kouji, hearing voices and stuff."

"What Kouji-san said might not be a bad idea, you should keep an eye on your car." said the security guard.

"I noticed Yoshida-san, since the first time this incidents started I seriously thought I would be the next one, well, my car to be precise. Maybe I should really consider start using a bicycle like my friend here."

"Psss... Not funny." said Kouji slightly angry.

"That is not necessary Chris-kun, you can use the underground levels of the parking lot."

Both Chris and Kouji seemed impressed.

"I never noticed this place had underground levels, what about you Kouji".

"Don't look at me, I ride a bike remember, I don´t use the parking lot." said Kouji apparently ashamed of himself.

"Sure you can use the underground, since the office building access and elevators don't go down there people prefer to park in the upper levels, therefore anyone rarely parks in Basement 1."

"So Yoshida-san, do you really think that the underground is safer that the upper levels against this perpetrator." interest and concern can be seen clearly in Chris' face.

"100 percent safe, due to the recent events a CCTV surveillance system has been installed in the first floors, day and night a live feed transmits to the security room, if anyone looks suspicious I will be the first person to know."

In the few months Chris has known security guard Yoshida, he would say that the previous statement was the most self assured comment he has ever heard from him.

"Thanks for the advise Yoshida-san, I will definitely consider parking on B1 from now on."

Kouji suddenly interrupts the speech and points the fact that a complete hour has passed since they met to observe the incident.

"Gentleman, sorry to interrupt but I have to go now, my wife is waiting for me at home."

"Pfff... What are you talking about Kouji, you don't have a wife".

"Yeah but... but I might find the love of my life on my way home, who knows".

"As long as you don't have to pay for it, let me remind you Kouji to skip the red light district and go straight home, we have work tomorrow".

"Wha... What... Who do you think I am." Kouji replied nervously.

Both Chris and the security guard laughed quietly, a humorous situation was not bad at the time being, taking in mind what they witnessed a few moments ago.

"Kouji, Yoshida-san, good night, I have to go".

The three man parted ways and headed home, except for guard Yoshida, his place was the security room since his night shift had started.

Chris just had to walk a few meters from where the incident took place, that is where his car was parked. As he opened the door and got inside, he could not ignore a strange presentiment-like sensation that the night was far from over, almost as if something interesting was about to happen in the following hours.

He was not the superstitious type, so he tried to convince himself that everything was just fine, except for that inexplicable event, the night would be as boring as every other.

After driving a few minutes through the Kamakura urban district, he arrived to this modern japanese two-floor apartment, compact, but good enough for a couple to live in it.

Although the only japanese characteristic the apartment had was only the size, not even the distinctive shoe tray at the entrance door or the japanese style bathroom, everything from the inside resembled a typical western fashion apartment.

In essence the first floor was a large living room with a kitchen at the far right corner. Bathroom and a laundry room to the left side of the large room, stairs to the second floor at the far left end.

"_Tadaima_... Mmm... I still can't get used to it."

As soon as the door was opened and the lights illuminated the room, a big hairy creature rapidly made its way to the hall.

"Oh not again... HALT...SIT." the man shouted with his right hand pointing toward the creature.

The animal slowly decreases speed and sits down recognizing the command and gesture pattern.

"Belka, why won't you understand, don't rush to the door when it opens, one day we'll have visitors and you will definitely scare the shit outta them".

Chris reaches the creature and pets its head.

"Hey what's this... ohh... I had no idea german shepherds dropped this much hair".

After a long day, the man proceeds to the refrigerator and opens it only to find beverages and some raw vegetables.

"Dammit... I forgot the shopping, I have nothing for dinner. Uhh... well, just grab this juice, I'm not that hungry anyway." said clearly disappointed.

Now Chris' sole desire was to reach bed, for that he went straight to his bedroom in the second floor, the apartment had quite a simple design, half way the stairs make a ninety degree turn to the left facing a straight corridor leading directly to the bedroom. Before that, a guest room and a complete bathroom both to the left of the straight corridor.

After a well deserved shower Chris shut himself in his bedroom, he seemed to spend most of his time in there, judging for the small glass table in which his laptop was, he tried not to be the typical workaholic "bring the work home" type, but his profession sometimes demanded it.

Chris might not look the type, but he likes games, specially videogames. Posted in front of the room, a large flat screen with a console underneath, seems he took that hobby pretty serious, enough for some videogames not being generic FPS titles, special editions and japanese original versions, hard to get for western residents, however, he was currently not one of them.

He actually considered to briefly forget about all his conflictive thoughts by logging in and search for interest matchmakings. That idea suddenly disappeared as he grabbed the smart phone and took a look to the time.

"No way... midnight already."

* * *

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**CHAPTER 2 coming soon, very soon actually.**

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	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **

**I do not own the diclonius race, fortunately for us it doesn't exist. Haven't you seen the anime/manga, they have no sense of humor.**

**Greetings Readers:**

**I apologize for the statement I wrote at the end of the first chapter about the next part coming very soon. It took me a whole month to develop this chapter.**

**About the story, up to this point it might seem to anyone that this will be a typical slice of life/comedy genre fanfic. You are wrong. Just for you to know, I don't like happy endings... just saying.**

**Well enjoy.**

**May 14, 20XX.**

Two hours have passed since midnight and the only thing that kept him from closing his eyes was the same sensation he had back in the parking lot, as if something was wrong, although he didn't know what exactly. Chris had experienced insomnia before, but this time was different.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" he thought.

He knew that the solution to his sleep deprivation was inside the bed's left side bureau, he took a couple of sleeping pills and it was enough to quietly knock him out.

**Meanwhile...**

Security guard Yoshida was 46 years old, even for his age, his slender body and friendly appearance, he knew how to take care of himself, and others if the situation required it. That is what kept him in charge of the security for the multi-storey car park and the office building linked to it. But still, that was a lot of ground to cover, and he was not alone. Other five security guards were in charge of patrolling both areas, all of them males between 25 and 30 years old, not as tough or experienced as Yoshida, same reason that made him the security chief rather than a mere guard. More than 7 years patrolling the same areas day and night, he knew both sectors like the palm of his hand; every corner, corridor, and office printed in his mind. However, that duty belonged now to the new guards.

Yoshida's responsibilities were more important than walking around checking every room with a flashlight in search for something unusual like homeless people taking refuge inside the parking lot or mysteriously opened doors without reason. Instead of registering every area on foot, he was now registering every area with a recently installed surveillance system with cameras in key places of both areas, supervising from inside a security room located deep inside the first floor in the office building.

Sitting on a dark leather office chair, holding a cup of coffee ready for a long night, security chief Yoshida focused on every detail of the surveillance system feed from one screen, and then another, and another. Yoshida knew that he was not the only security guard on duty, but being in charge of monitoring 20 screens transmitting live at the same time was not an easy task for a single man, not to mention boring as well, taking in mind that the office building and parking lot remained closed at night, there was nothing interesting to see.

"Sakamoto-san, this is eagle's nest, proceed to east wing of the building, third floor, office number 307, I see an open door, go check it out and report back, over." spoke Yoshida through his left chest attached radio.

"Sakamoto here, understood eagle's nest, over and out."

Yoshida knew well that said door belonged to a pharmaceutical company sales office, he also knew that the door was open not because of someone trying to break in, in fact the door opened by itself, the lock had been broken for quite some time and the door seemed not to close completely most of the times. He decided not to tell his fellow security guard about the broken lock, his reason for it was to make the recruit check and proceed with caution as if the situation simulated a robbery. Yoshida could see from the camera a young security guard approaching the open door, as the superior in charge he must make sure every man knew how to perform flawless in a security sweep.

Security guard Sakamoto slowly approached the opened door through the poorly illuminated corridor with a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other, moving without the slightest noise. Inside the office only cubicles could be seen, that worried the young guard because it meant plenty of places to hide for a perpetrator, luckily for him that was not the situation. He walked through the straight rows of cubicle blocks, checking every corner while pointing both flashlight and handgun forward, as if he intended to shoot the first thing that moved, whether it was human or not. After a thorough search no abnormalities were found, which meant time to report back.

"Eagle's nest, Sakamoto here, office 307 is clear, over".

"This is Eagle's nest, understood, I know the sales office is clear, over."

"Sakamoto here, what do you mean you knew it was clear, over." asked the young guard.

"It was a little test for you, that door usually opens by itself, try to remember that, over."

"Sakamoto here, a test?... And how did I do, over." asks slightly surprised.

"Sakamoto-san, protocol dictates that regular sweeps do not require the use of firearms unless completely sure of a threat presence; we are not the police, so if shots are fired without reason you will have trouble. Besides from that you did fine, over".

"Sakamoto here, understood, moving to regular patrol route... Yoshida-san, next time you want to test me it better be at a firing range, over."

"Eagle's nest here, since you are the newest member I wanted to see your abilities, don't take it the wrong way, when the shift is over I will invite you a drink, how that sounds, over".

"Sakamoto here, you better don't make that a simulation, over and out."

A test, uhh... I really wanted to shoot at something", said clearly disappointed to himself.

**20 minutes later...**

Security chief Yoshida had been playing with a deck of cards and keeping an eye on the monitors at the same time, he had been doing that for almost two hours now. Taking a quick glance at the clock on the left side of the security room.

"Mmm... 2:20 am, I thought it would be much later".

His eyes slowly returned to the screens and he stared for a few more seconds.

"Well, everything seems under control on the monitors, I think I deserve a little rest." said almost yawning.

No matter how experienced he was, for Yoshida's age sleep deprivation was not good for his health anymore. He carefully arranged the cards back into a deck and put them away in a nearby table next to the empty cup of coffee. The leather chair in which he had been sitting on for the last four hours seemed to be just the place for a rest. His upper eyelids were slowly finding their way to meet up with the lower ones, converging to form a seal that would take him to a brief moment of rest in body and mind, the old man's tired eyes, half way from meeting its purpose... suddenly opened, revealing a stare completely focused at the monitors.

"Huh... What was that, I thought I saw someone".

A quick sweep of the monitors, from 1 to 20, four horizontal rows of five screens each, big enough to completely turn a wall into a giant LCD display. The landscape of each camera transmitted the same image for every area, no movement could be seen, everything was in order then. Besides, the probability of seeing someone through a camera roaming around at that time was a high one, taking in mind that the building area was being patrolled by other five security guards.

"Uhh... It could have been one of the rookies patrolling, I feel a little dumb for overreacting that way." said Yoshida with a hand over his head.

After that accidental setback, the man's desire for rest completely vanished, having no option but to stay alert for what was left of the night shift, and to accomplish that he could use some coffee. Luckily for him, the security room had a coffee maker on a nearby table, that would save him from a long trip to the employees cafeteria located in the second floor of the office building. Besides, it would be bothersome to walk through poorly illuminated corridors with a flashlight in a hand and an empty cup in the other just to get a small portion of coffee.

Standing up from the comfortable chair to refill his cup, he stretches his numb legs and prepares for an all-night boring shift. He sits down once more and takes the deck of cards lying on the nearby table and starts playing with them again. Yoshida didn't seem to be playing solitaire or any game actually, more like admiring each card, their colors and details, the shapes of kings and queens, the numbers, diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs. His complete attention was in the cards...

But suddenly, as an instinctive reaction his eyes changed direction as fast as they could back to the security monitors.

"Ahh... there you are."

Yoshida only saw it for a few seconds right at the edge of the screen, but that was more than enough to realize that the clothes were not those from a security guard, but he couldn't be completely sure, so he was about to confirm his doubt. The camera transmitting to monitor number 14 was located in the second floor of the office building, a straight corridor and a corner could be seen, the same place where the trespasser roamed. Yoshida took his left chest radio and shifted the frequency to an open channel so he could communicate with the five guards at the same time.

"This is Eagle's nest to all guards, we might have a trespasser in the building, report your current location immediately and await for confirmation and further instructions, over."

Between the short period of response from the security personnel, Yoshida focused on the 20 monitors in an effort to locate the trespasser once more if possible.

"Eagle's nest, this is Kuroda, I am investigating the second level of the parking lot, over."

"Eagle's nest, Sakamoto here, third floor where your little test took place, over."

"Aikawa reporting, seventh floor in the office building near the elevator, Yoshida-san, over."

"Eagle's nest, Yuuta here, currently on the fifth level of the parking lot, over."

"Gendou reporting, currently inspecting the second floor in the office building, over."

Yoshida only demonstrated interest to the response of the last security guard.

"Eagle's nest here, Gendou, in which part of the second floor are you exactly, over." said Yoshida.

"Gendou here, I am in the far west wing of the second floor, near the cafeteria, over."

When Yoshida heard that the guard was in the cafeteria, he confirmed that a trespasser was indeed inside the premises; the corridor from the camera display in which the unknown subject had been seen was at a considerable length from the employee cafeteria area, it concluded that security guard Gendou was not the one who appeared in the camera.

"Eagle's nest to all security personnel, we have a trespasser in the office building area second floor, unknown height or gender, await for further confirmation; Gendou, proceed to the east wing corridor, same floor near office 209 and search for the subject and report back, over and out."

Security guard Gendou was a 28 year old man, slightly taller than the other guards and was the most experienced of them, with 3 years working as a guard in the office building, he and Yoshida knew each other well and had developed a certain friendship; enough thrust for him to reply positive to his superior's previous order with a simple "Ahhh..." through the radio. With only a flashlight on hand, the guard approached to the last known position of the trespasser, it would take only a few minutes for him to arrive, moving through barely illuminated corridors and large open areas filled with cubicle sections that seemed endless camouflaged in the darkness of the night, even with a flashlight the walls of those open sections could not be seen and that would result with the disorientation of the guard. For him to get lost in that section would definitely give more time for the intruder to get away farther than he already was.

"Uhh... east wing is that way... or maybe... I can't see... if I came from there...all those turns..."

As he kept walking, he received an incoming call from his chest radio.

"Eagle's nest here, Gendou, have you arrived yet, over."

"Gendou here, Umm... I am in the cubicle section, but it's too dark and I don't see the access to east wing from where I am right now, over."

Yoshida knew about the lack of lightening at night watch, it was a saving energy protocol that the office building started to implement since it consumed considerable amounts of electricity.

"This is an emergency situation, guess I have no choice but to activate them." said to himself.

Yoshida approached the large console beneath the security monitors and searched for the auxiliary lights control; it was a flat screen monitor with keyboard integrated to the console, a username and a password were enough to activate the many lights scattered through corridors and corners. These rather small white boxes with a lamp on each side provided limited illumination to the entire office complex, not to mention the green "EXIT" signs turned on as well. The control room for the complete electric system was located in the basement, however he had no authorization or knowledge of how to activate it, so they were limited to the current auxiliary lightening.

"Eagle's nest here to all guards, turning auxiliary lights on, that is all I can do, over."

Gendou stood motionless until the cubicle area ceased to resemble a sea of darkness and suddenly became as clear as an evening, surrounded by small light beacons from all sides, the lightening was weak but was enough to make his way to the east wing. Almost getting closer towards the trespasser's last location, Gendou receives an unexpected call from the security office.

"Eagle's nest here, are you still heading to east wing, over."

"Gendou here, I am almost there Yoshida-san, over."

"Don't bother anymore Gendou."

"Why..."

"Because I am looking at her, and she is not there anymore." said Yoshida.

Back in the security room chief Yoshida was standing up staring at the monitor number 18, the display revealed the identity of the trespasser clearly enough thanks to the auxiliary lights.

"A... girl... but... how did she get inside the office area unnoticed." said disconcerted.

However the face of the young trespasser was not aligned to the camera and could not be seen from the current angle. Yoshida came to the conclusion that the intruder had to be a female, that because of her petite body, stance, and clothes.

"Eagle's nest here to all security personnel, the trespasser has been identified as a young female, age between 12 and 15, subject is wearing a black hoodie, black denim shorts and brown boots, hair color unknown and currently roaming the third floor near the elevators, over."

"Sakamoto here, I am on the third floor, heading to investigate, over."

"Eagle's nest here, understood, Sakamoto-san please keep your firearm holstered, over."

"Sakamoto here, I know, I know, it's just a girl right, what is she going to do, over and out."

The newest guard in the place quickly moved towards the third floor elevators area, now with the corridors barely lightened up, the task should be easier than the last one.

"This is my chance, if I capture that intruder Yoshida and the others will start showing more respect." said Sakamoto to himself.

The young man's thoughts acted like fuel as he started moving faster and faster to rendezvous with the unknown subject.

"I don't give a damn if it is a homeless defenseless girl, she shouldn't have come in here, I'll use brute force if necessary."

The elevators corridor was in the next corner from where he was, it only took him a few seconds to get there, running as fast as his stamina allowed him; making a full stop and taking cover next to the corner that revealed the motionless elevators, readying his flashlight with the purpose of momentarily stunning the trespasser... Sakamoto jumps out of cover and points his flashlight straight to the corridor... only to reveal a deserted path with a couple of steel doors being those of the elevators.

"Sakamoto here, the girl is not in the elevator area, she is gone, over."

"Eagle's nest here, uhh... understood, no sight of her in the camera either, stand by, over".

"Sakamoto here, roger that, if you see..."

Making a sudden stop, ignoring all incoming transmissions from his superior, Sakamoto heard something that made his face turn expressionless in no time... the sound of footsteps, clearly hitting the floor, fading away in the distance.

"Is that little bitch..."

Sakamoto didn't bother reporting the update on the trespasser´s position as he ran at full speed to catch up with her; although the footsteps almost disappearing, sound came slightly stronger deep into the same corridor the elevators were, so that is the way he followed.

"Sakamoto-kun... Sakamoto-kun... This is eagle's nest, respond."

No matter how many times Yoshida tried to communicate with the young guard, if he didn't answer the fist ten times, then it was time to give up with him. However, he still had to coordinate other four guards to catch a girl that was making them all look like idiots chasing her around a building at 3 a.m.

"This is Eagle's nest, umm... Kuroda-san and Gendou-san, both of you are currently in the second floor of the building and parking lot right. Listen up...Gendou, move to the east wing and guard the double glass doors connecting the parking lot with the building. Kuroda, you do the same but in the fist floor, don't mind the elevators, those are deactivated at night, nobody gets in or out."

"This is Gendou, understood, out".

"Kuroda reporting, moving to the first level, out."

Yoshida took a deep breath and focused on the monitors once more, especially in those transmitting from the third floor. Although not receiving an answer, he was sure that Sakamoto was on pursuit in that floor and it was their opportunity to capture her, but he would need a strategy to accomplish that. It was just a matter of time until one of the monitors showed activity, the young girl running through a corridor, desperately trying to open closed offices to hide inside as she was being chased by a not so happy security guard. What caught the attention of Yoshida was something rather unusual that he hadn't noticed before when describing her clothes to the other guards; the young girl's hoodie had quite a disturbing feature, from that distance they appeared to be a pair of bumps over her head. Of course Yoshida didn't have enough time to examine them as the girl ran off once more, followed by the restless security guard a few seconds later, concluding that those could have been wrinkles on the hoodie's cap, nothing relevant.

But what was relevant is that Yoshida noticed that the young girl was getting closer to the stairwell from inside the west wing building and that should not be allowed, otherwise she could go to the fourth or second floors and lose all trace of her again. Suddenly the plan came by its own.

"Eagle's nest here, subject currently on the third floor, Aikawa-san, Yuuta-san, report your positions once again, over".

"Aikawa reporting, I moved from the seventh floor to the fifth floor, awaiting instructions".

"Yuuta here, uhh... changed position and currently in the fourth level of the multi-storey car park, over".

"Good, they are closer that I thought." said Yoshida to himself.

"This is eagle's nest, pay attention both of you; Aikawa-san, you get to the west wing stairwell, descent to the fourth floor as fast as possible and stay there, do not let anyone through those stairs."

"Aikawa here, understood, moving."

"Yuuta-san, listen up, stay in the fourth level of the parking lot and move to the east wing glass doors connecting to the building, no one but you gets through, understood."

"Understood, Yuuta out."

Walking from one side to the other inside the crowded security room was Yoshida, his face soaked in cold sweat and heart beat rate gone double, sleep deprivation and stress has taken its toll with his sanity, to the point of arguing with himself.

"Now with the first and second floors secured by Gendou and Kuroda, the fourth floor glass doors and stairwell access being watched by Yuuta and Aikawa, the only escape routes remaining for that girl is through the third floor stairwell or the parking lot connection, as I speak she is getting closer to the stairs..."

Now standing still and changing his stance to arms crossed, thinking about what would be the next move, too much stress for someone of his age to handle.

"That's it... If the west wing stairwell is blocked, she will have no option but to stay hidden in the third floor... or run to the parking lot through the third floor glass doors access. Only one person can block that stairwell before she gets to it... I only hope he answers this time. Uhh... if the administration finds about this I will lose the job, this better works."

Surprisingly just a couple minutes have passed since security chief Yoshida gave instructions to the guards, which meant that there was still time. Hoping for the best, takes his left chest radio once more and changes the frequency belonging to Sakamoto's radio only. The success of Yoshida's strategy now depended on the young guard to respond.

"Sakamoto-san, this is Yoshida, stop what you are doing and just listen what I have to say".

A few seconds passed but no answer was received, Yoshida somehow was prepared to expect the worst as he said the following to himself...

"Oh well, maybe I should change tactics and..."

"Yes, this is Sakamoto, I couldn't answer before, I was pursuing the girl but I lost her."

Yoshida's pessimism rapidly vanished as he heard the young guard's voice through the speaker.

"Sakamoto... Sakamoto-san listen, forget about the girl and go to the third floor stairwell now, I will explain later".

"Negative sir, I would rather continue to sear..."

"Just... shut up and listen to me Sakamoto, there is a high chance that the girl is heading to the stairwell, you have to get there before her, if everything goes according to that scenario you must force her to escape through the parking lot, it will be easier to catch her in the open."

"Uhh... understood, going to the west wing stairwell then."

"I haven't seen you through the cameras recently, where exactly are you."

"I am in the south wing corridor, near the office complex, over."

"I see, look Sakamoto-san, the fastest way to the stairwell is through the same corridor you are in, just head straight west and turn right, keep advancing until you get to the stairs. When you arrive confirm via radio and await instructions... GO."

"Yoshida-san, I will get that stupid kid."

Back in the security room, all Yoshida could do now was to expect everything go according to the plan, none of the recent events have proven any benefits to his health or mental stability. What seemed to be a night like any other turned into an unpleasant experience hard to forget, but one way or another he saw it coming, that night was not far from over.

A race against time for Sakamoto started as he had to get to the stairwell before the young trespasser did. For a young man like him the task shouldn't be much of a hassle, not even if he spent the last 10 minutes chasing down that girl, his stamina should be in pristine condition, besides, he would need it later.

The south wing of the office building was a straight corridor full of windows leading to the street, through the crystal parade the radiant moonlight was brighter than any other night, so lightening was something he shouldn't be worried for now. Getting closer to the west wing corner, rushing through the corridor, all the windows and doors looked the same to him, almost resembling an old-style cartoon repeating background. What for him seemed like an eternity, was in fact a single minute that took him to get to his destination, with his shirt and face covered in sweat, leaned down a while to recover his breath. He would need it to property report back.

"Sakamoto here... uhh...uhh... I arrived to the... uhh... uhh... stairwell, Yoshida-san."

"Yoshida here, that was fast... listen, hold position, I will explain now, the possibility that the girl tries to go through the stairwell is high, if that happens you are not to capture her by yourself, otherwise she will escape again and everything will be in vain..."

"Wait... wait... what do you mean a ... uhh... uhh... high possibility, what if she is right now at the parking lot, or what if... uhh... uhh... she stays hidden in the third floor."

"Don't mind about it Sakamoto, if she hides in the third floor I will order the other guards to block both exits and that will give us enough time to search for her room by room until dawn. In other hand, if she goes to the parking lot, Gendou and Yuuta are in the second and fourth levels outside... she has nowhere to go."

"So there is a ... uhh... uhh... 33 percent of her coming to the stairs."

"Yes Sakamoto, now do as I told and stay there, over and out."

Just a few seconds of rest were enough to recover his heartbeat rate and breath back to normal, Sakamoto slowly returned his chest radio to its place and hid in a nearby corner leading to the stairs.

"If she wants to get to the stairwell she must pass through here. Chase again... no, I will beat her small body up."

Supposing that the girl decided to take the stairwell route, she was taking too long. Sakamoto was really hoping to see the girl, seems to him that their previous encounter was enough reason to hold a grudge against her. If it were for him, he would have left that place and kept searching for her. Taking a glance at his wristwatch, Sakamoto could hardly see the numbers displayed, that area was poorly illuminated, come to think of it, that made it a perfect place for an ambush.

"Damn... I've been here for six minutes and still..."

Suddenly Sakamoto muted himself to hear the sounds that came from the deep corridor, sounds that to him were very familiar, footsteps hitting the ground in rapid succession announcing her approach.

"Ahhh... It's her."

Anxiety ran through his veins tensing every muscle in his body, waiting for the precise moment to jump out of cover and capture the young trespasser. Taking cover around the corner had a disadvantage though, he had to react according to the proximity of the footsteps, if he gets out too soon, the girl could stop and run the way she came. It was now or never as the increasing sounds gave away her position being a couple meters around the corner...

"Now..."

A fragile body colliding at high speed with another, a figure coming out of nowhere embracing her with such strength, both of them going down slamming the ground in plain darkness, her screams for help motivating the unknown aggressor, impossible for her to escape at that point.

After a quick suppression in the pitch black landscape, the young guard had the situation under control as he subdued the intruder by pressing her head against the floor. Although opposing minor resistance, the guard had a slight doubt about that being actually the girl's head beneath his hand, reason for it was that heads don't have bumps on them...

After removing the girl's hoodie cap, absence of light kept from identifying the abnormality so all he could do was to palpate those hard pointy bone-like fragments attached to her skull. His reaction was devoid of words and actions almost paralyzed for his recent discovery.

"Wha... what are this bones... what are you." said the guard.

All she needed was a single second to gather enough strength in her right leg and unleash that might directly to the aggressor's face as he unintentionally liberated her from the improvised captivity. That impact seemed to be necessary for the guard to regain consciousness, but at the time he realized that his nose got out of place, the girl was already a few meters ahead of him. Taking the pain and without hesitation, the guard stood on his feet and went after the girl once more, the young man's pride has been ruptured again by that fragile girl. His face filled with anger resembled more a psychopath rather than a man.

"Ahh... I'll... kill you..."

He knew that the girl felt his wrath behind her back as she desperately ran straight the corridor, she would not stop for nothing, not even to take a turn in one of the many corners, of course that would implicate to reduce speed and get caught by the insane security guard with no doubt. The chase would not cease until she meets the corridor's end, or in that case, the glass doors. That corridor cuts straight through the third floor, it connected west and east wing directly, and east wing was exactly where he wanted her to go according to Yoshida's orders. All Sakamoto had to do now was to force the girl into the parking lot and she somehow would be captured.

Yoshida had it difficult trying to remember when was the last time he tasted the flavor of tobacco. His long forgotten vice made an unexpected comeback even though he had some trouble quitting a few years back, and for a man of his age smoking could bring several side effects like irritation and dizziness, combined with his current exhaustion and stress, he was anguished enough thinking about losing his job because of some stupid kid being in the wrong time in the wrong place, but he didn't seem to care about health problems because he was too busy with all his attention fixed at the monitors.

"Good... good... keep it that way Sakamoto."

At least not everything was as bad as he thought, the desired scenario was happening according to his plan, the trespasser girl was heading full speed through the corridor followed by the restless security guard, and both were few seconds from getting to the parking lot, it was Yoshida's turn to make the next move. With a cigarette in a hand and the radio in the other, he changed the frequency belonging to the guard located in the second level of the parking lot.

"Eagle's nest here, Gendou are you (cough... cough...) still in the second level, over."

"This is Gendou, I'm here Yoshida-san, are you OK, over."

"Yes yes... go up the third level, that girl will be there in a few seconds, Sakamoto is chasing her as well. Go now..."

"Ah... Understood Yoshida-san, over and out."

Security guard Gendou had been the first person to go after the girl back inside the building, however he didn't have the opportunity to see her in person and the only things he knew about was her ability to move fast and the outfit she had.

"Uhh... Yoshida said the girl had a black hoodie right, it won't be difficult to catch her now, Sakamoto-san is also coming and Kuroda-san is guarding the first floor, the parking lot is dark though, I should use my flashlight." said Gendou to himself.

As he moved through a wide area full of empty spaces in which automobiles should be parked, the concrete columns displayed numbers that served as reference for the floor he currently was, a blurry number could be seen in them, Gendou turned his flashlight on to confirm the number in the column, there was no room for mistakes now so he had to be sure.

"Ehh... is... number 3, Yoshida-san said they were coming but I don't..."

Gendou was interrupted by an embrace of darkness, the flashlight which had become his eyes was now a useless metal cylinder, but not for long... The security guard didn't seem concerned neither for the sudden breakdown of the apparatus nor being completely blind.

"They ran out, I had some spare ones in... my belt... right here."

After a quick search, Gendou took out some batteries from his utility belt, or at least that is what he thought they were, there was no light after all. Before he could unplug the flashlight to remove the used up batteries and insert the new ones, he slowly realized that the place was not deserted anymore... Footsteps could be heard from the distance, finally the reason for him to be in the dark parking lot has shown up, and it was getting closer each second passed. He rapidly unplugged the tube and took the batteries out tossing them to the ground, the artifact required two C batteries both with positive tips downwards; completely blind, he used his fingertips to tell which was the positive side.

As different from the other security guards, Gendou was the tallest and most experienced, even if he resembled to be quite intimidating, he was not the aggressive type. He was aware that the trespasser was a kid, so instead of subduing and probably hurt her, he would try something different. Both batteries inside and the flashlight plugged, it took Gendou a few seconds to get ready and just in time to point with it at the shadow rapidly approaching towards him.

"Stop you little..."

A powerful white beam directed to the subject's eyes stunning him immediately, however it was not what Gendou expected to see. An agitated young security guard covered in sweat and blood coming out of his deformed nose, not very pleased for being stopped like that.

"Sa... Sakamoto-san... where is the girl."

"Put that damn thing out of my face...are you blind Gendou... she just passed beside you."

"No... No... I've been here the whole time and didn't see anyone but you."

"Damn... the bitch ran this way but..."

Suddenly, from within the darkness a weak noise could be heard, as if something was crawling desperately against a surface, giving away the trespassers position.

"Ahh... there... over there..." Sakamoto shouted.

Gendou quickly aimed the flashlight in the precise direction Sakamoto was pointing, the column of light made it as clear as day. At ground level, the girl was slipping through the open gap that separated the third floor from the second floor in the parking lot. The gap was small enough for the girl to fit, but impossible for any adult to go through. Both guards rushed to the second floor using the vehicle ramp but their effort was useless, the trespasser used the shortcut once again and she was in the first floor now, very close to the street exit.

Security guard Kuroda was patrolling near the glass doors next to the office building as he was ordered by Yoshida. For a long time the situation had been under control, peace and quiet in the first floor, although not as dark and desolated as the upper levels.

Open bars and restaurants were located to the other side of the street in front of the main entrance to the multi-storey car park; so lively and full of lights despite being around 3 a.m.

In a matter of seconds his harmony collapsed, now all he could appreciate were two persons running around and shouting in the upper levels, for a moment he thought about joining them but his orders were strict, not to leave the doors as he was supposed to prevent a certain trespasser from escaping through them.

"But what if they found the girl. In that case I should..."

The guard's thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected event. Few meters ahead from him, an unknown figure appeared from nowhere, hitting the ground as if it had fallen down from the upper floor. The height of the first level was considerable, but that didn't stop the subject from getting on its feet and start moving again... towards the street.

The unexplainable happening took the guard by surprise, standing motionless as he tried to identify the subject, the street lights were supposed to make the task easier, unfortunately his sight was not good at night, not even with his glasses on.

"Hey... who are you... stay right there." he shouted.

Two more figures joined afterwards, but this time he recognized both. Instead of greeting him, one of them desperately yelled at him.

"Kuroda... move... get her before she escapes."

Sense came back to Kuroda, recalling the time he was told that the trespasser was a young girl. Before saying a word, the security guard rushed towards the distant silhouette, however, he was at the other side of the parking lot so he had no opportunity to catch up with her. By the time he was in the center of the parking lot, all he could see in the distance was that the girl had turned left down the street, a few seconds later he arrived at the main entrance and tried to find her, but he didn't expect to see that many people in the sidewalk... she was nowhere to be found.

As security guard Kuroda stood in the street, the other two joined him immediately.

"I.. I don't know... she just vanished."

"Well done Kuroda, you let that bitch escape."

"It was not my fault Sakamoto... my orders were to protect the entrance."

"Yeah, so I ordered you to go after that little bitch."

"Watch your mouth kid you are just a beginner, I don't take orders from you, besides you were chasing her first, why didn't you catch her before." said Kuroda with a menacing tone.

Before the discussion developed into a fight, Gendou intervened.

"Stop it both of you... It was nobody's fault. I will notify Yoshida-san that the trespasser escaped. Sakamoto-san, your nose looks bad, there is a first aid kit in the security room, go use it."

The wound on Sakamoto's nose had gone from fresh red blood to a brown colored crust, still, he didn't seem to care, it appears that all the adrenaline in his body acted like a natural painkiller, until that moment.

"Yeah, it's starting to hurt a bit, a good kick to the face. I wanted to return the favor to that little bitch..."

"Huh... so all of this was because that girl kicked you." said Kuroda with a sarcastic tone.

"Kuroda... enough." said Gendou.

Sakamoto ignored the commentary as he walked back inside the desolated parking lot. It has been a long exhausting night. Besides his broken nose, he felt his body temperature hotter than usual, it might have been a fever, but no, he knew exactly what was... it was anger, accumulating in his head to the point of giving him a headache. He was not the type of person that forgets easily.

"If I see that stupid kid again..."

A barely dense cloud of smoke, cigarette butts lied scattered on the floor, an exhausted looking man apparently smoking his last one right after tossing the empty box to a nearby trashcan, just standing in the middle of the room staring at some security monitors. At that moment, security chief Yoshida ceased to feel pressured for losing his job, from that previous state of stress and anxiety, to a relaxed person that kept his cool. Anybody that sees him would have thought that the cigarettes made the magic, as if instead of tobacco it was painkillers those which he had been smoking... but no.

Certainly he was tranquil, reason for it is that he had another plan in mind, a plan that would make all his problems vanish, that and the events from the last five hours.

Suddenly Yoshida was disturbed by an incoming call from his radio.

"This is Gendou, Yoshida-san, do you copy, over."

Yoshida stood still, like he was not pretending to answer the call, but after a few seconds, he did.

"This is Yoshida, what is it".

"Uhh... Yoshida-san, the... the girl escaped to the street."

"Yes I know... there is a camera in the first level, I can see you and Kuroda-san."

"She outran us at the parking lot, she crawled through the gaps between the floors, we went after her but there was nothing we could do."

"Is that so, well... it doesn't matter now. That's strange, I thought Sakamoto was there too."

"He was, right now Sakamoto-san is heading to the security room, his nose is broken."

"Understood, return to patrol duty, over and out."

Right after the communications ended, Yoshida approached the console beneath the monitors. Despite his age, he was handling the keyboard pretty well and seemed to know what he was doing. What he was about to do went against all regulations imposed by his superiors, not to mention his personal morale was at stake and the people under his command, some of them had families and could not afford to lose their jobs for some insignificant reason. Had the trespasser been caught, the following action wouldn't have to be done.

After a couple of minutes searching through archives and files, he finally found what he was looking for... the security tapes.

"The surveillance system was installed last week, relying so much on digital information this days, accidents could happen. It sounds like a justified excuse to me." said in low voice.

If the security tapes were removed, it would seem that the girl never trespassed the premises. However, it wouldn't be that easy, the system history reminds the user that a certain file was eliminated and that would likely arise suspicion. The only way to wipe out the records was a system reboot.

The security tape video from the last five hours was now inside a USB drive. After removing the memory stick, Yoshida proceeded to reboot the system. When the procedure was ready, only a question was displayed on the monitor. "START SYSTEM REBOOT Y/N"

"They owe me a big one, but they will never know." said to himself.

Yoshida then typed the Y key, suddenly the monitors displayed nothing, after a few seconds an initial configuration appeared on screen, as if the system had never been used before. The data traffic had been erased. His part was done, but the last step would require assistance from the other guards. Yoshida would make them swear not to reveal anything about what happened that night. However, he would never tell them that the surveillance tapes were tampered, that secret dies with him.

The door from the security room slowly opened, revealing the shadow of an exhausted young man with a wound on his nose, hard to miss.

"Ahh... Sakamoto-san, Gendou told me you were coming. What happened to your nose."

"That little bi... girl kicked me while I held her on the ground back in the stairwell area."

"Not bad for your first week, the medic kit is in the shelf over there." said Yoshida while pointing.

"I will be fine, just need my cigarettes."

"Ohh... So the cigarettes were yours."

"What do you mean... wait, all this fog. You smoke them all Yoshida-san."

Yoshida humbly smiles with a hand over his head, looking at Sakamoto.

"I apologize Sakamoto-san, I will buy you some cigarettes later."

"Uhh... yes, but I thought you didn't smoke Yoshida-san."

"I didn't."

Yoshida's good humor vanished from his face when recalling on his memory the recent stress and anxiety that forced him to retake his old forgotten habit.

"Huh Yoshida-san, why all the security cameras are deactivated." asked Sakamoto.

"Ohh... well... that's because... the system suddenly rebooted itself, nothing you should worry about Sakamoto-san. Technicians will check it out in the morning."

"Is that so... well, I am going to the cafeteria, need anything Yoshida-san."

"Uhh... no, I'm fine Sakamoto-san."

After the young security guard retired, Yoshida was left alone in the room, he felt sorrow for lying to one of his subordinates about the "accidental" system reboot. He had to get used to that sensation, he would need it when it is time to tell the others they must forget about the incident and giving no explanation for it.

He then takes a look at the memory stick that was being held in his hand during the previous conversation. The only person that knew about the content of that USB drive was Yoshida and he intended to keep it that way, for his sake and the others.

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